Androgenesis
by Liliacandidi
Summary: Axis and Rhys become increasingly more involved with each other. As their connection to each other grudgingly  grows, they face the issues that come between a prince and his courtesan.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note**: This was written by two people in the format of an RP. It has been converted to a format that allows more fluidity between the characters. There will be several chapters uploaded. Though this mainly revolves around Axis and Rhys, other Teahouse characters are also included in the story. One thing you will notice is that Axis knows that Rhys is engaged. This was a predetermined factor of the RP, and not a mismanagement on the part of chronology of the actual comic. It comes into play later.

Enjoy!

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><p>Carriage wheels were always rolling along the cobblestone road outside the Teahouse. It was the sound of upperclass Ivore. The round, befitted stones against grooved and burnished wood; it was the musical accompaniment to the arrival of clients to the most discreet brothel. It was the sound the courtesans that resided there heard day after day. Squeaky wheels, ones that clacked in a rhythmic pattern, ones that mumbled and bumbled over the street. Some carriages rolled on by. Some wheels stopped. These particular wheels that approached the stretch of sidewalk outside the Teahouse's front entrance simply <em>glided<em>.

Axis, whore extraordinaire, was walking through the foyer just as the carriage door slammed outside. He looked to the front door and then to the path that would, inevitably, take him to the kitchen. It was so close, yet so far. He hoped to God someone else was around to open the door to whoever was out there, because he was hungry. It was that uncomfortable sort of hungry, too, the hollow kind that made every growl echo around in the empty pit he called a stomach. Well, fuck; no one else was around.

Bare feet padded over the marble floor and, soon enough, the door was opened to the Teahouse patron. Axis's stomach flipped, but he blamed it on the sandwich he'd been imagining. "You selling something?" the whore asked, a smirk somewhere between arrogant and mean on his face. "We're not interested." He leaned against the door, making it clear the other man would have to go through him to get inside.

Rhys didn't miss a beat. "Last time I checked, you were the one selling something."

Axis couldn't exactly deny that.

"Come on, I spoke to Atros yesterday, and I've got you until this time tomorrow." Rhys jerked his thumb toward the carriage. "Do you need to go get shoes or something? Hurry up."

"...You what?" This was all processing very slowly. Axis stuck his head out of the door to peer at the waiting carriage. There was a door open and waiting, no doubt, for the two of them to climb in. "The hell is this?" he demanded, though his tone was more of shock than anything else. "Why didn't anyone tell me I was going on a field trip today?" Now he was definitely suspicious. And, what the fuck, a little angry. Maybe he'd had other plans that day! Plans that involved a sandwich.

Rhys hadn't moved from the doorway where he was leaning with his obnoxious blue hair and obnoxious smile and obnoxious way of not even flinching at the warning signs that all pointed to Axis being about three seconds from turning right back around and leaving him out there. "I don't know why," he said. "Maybe Atros expects you to obey without question?"

The whore shot Rhys a scowl over his shoulder as he shuffled to a nearby closet and slipped his feet into some shoes. He grabbed a jacket, too, and slung it over one shoulder. Rather than saying something else, Axis expressed his anger through the way he stomped over the threshold and slammed the door behind him, the thing rattling on its hinges. A few more of those stomping steps got him to the carriage, and he was clumsy as he clambered in.

The carriage was lavish. Decadent. It practically fucking smelled like money. More accurately, it smelled like expensive cigarettes and pruned, fine leather. Axis narrowed his eyes, surveyed his new surroundings as Rhys climbed in after him. "Fuck. Atros should charge you more. You've got it." A less-than-graceful hand slid over the seat of the carriage underneath Axis, and it looked a little out of place there. "And you'd pay it for me," he added, shifting his gaze back to the other man.

"I already did pay more for you," Rhys said as he settled into his own seat across from Axis. "At least this outing. I understand it's rare that courtesans are allowed out of the Teahouse without escorts. But I got my way." A short pause. "I want you to guess what I have planned for this evening."

Axis scoffed and threw his coat to the side, lifting his arms and resting them on the back of the carriage seat. "I'm not gonna play a fucking guessing game. I don't care how much you paid for me." The carriage rolled away from Teahouse, started its journey to wherever they were headed. The whore was wary, to say the least. He felt like a fish out of water outside of the Teahouse, because Rhys was right. It was rare he ever left the place. And why should he? He had everything he needed right in one place: food and a bed. And sometimes beer. Unless wherever they were going was a house made of mattresses and furnished in cake, Axis decided he'd remain unimpressed.

"Well, then. I suppose you'll find out in due time," Rhys replied, and Axis tried not to watch too closely as Rhys lifted the curtain of the carriage window. You know, if someone had asked him right then, he would have said that the sun hitting the other man's blue hair looked fucking ugly. And he would have said it with too much conviction, so much that it'd be obvious what he really thought.

Axis slumped in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest like a petulant child. "I hate surprises," he muttered. Despite having refused to play the guessing game, he continued. "You gonna take me to some secluded spot so we can fuck in your carriage?"

"I'd rather not tear up the carriage," Rhys said. His blue-eyed gaze went to Axis's feet. "And I don't want your shoes on the cushions."

Well, if anything would have guaranteed Axis kicking up his feet and plopping them right on the cushioned seat across from it, those words were it. The carriage went over a particularly large bump, and Axis, without the proper footing, was in danger of falling on his ass. It would be worth it, though, if he did. He kept his feet resolutely in place. "This whole thing is weirding me out. And I don't get why you have to be so fucking mysterious about it."

In reply, Rhys shoved Axis's feet off the cushion and back onto the floor. They landed heavily; obviously Axis had been putting all his weight into keeping them there on the cushion. The whore scowled a scowl to end all scowls.

Rhys tone might have seemed sympathetic to some, but Axis recognized mocking when he heard it. "No one has ever wanted to take you out of the Teahouse before?" A cluck of his tongue had Axis's already dark expression turn even nastier until there was practically a rain cloud hovering over his brow. "My, you must really enjoy pissing off your customers."

Axis grunted. "Shut up." Oh, that ever-eloquent whore. Rather than putting his feet back on the cushion, Axis kicked his shoes off and swung rather dirty feet up into Rhys's lap, just to be annoying. It was either his feet on the cushion or his feet in the other man's lap, is what that gesture said. "I wouldn't mind some of my other clients taking me out," he said. "You're just being creepy as hell."

The plan to make Rhys miserable seemed to backfire, then. Instead of shoving Axis's feet away like the whore had expected, Rhys plucked a handkerchief from his pocket and dropped it over one of Axis's feet, then took that foot in his hands. Axis almost jerked his foot out of that grip, to fulfil his villainous and long-thought-out scheme to make this trip as unpleasant for Rhys as possible, but... well, it felt good. Though Axis was wont to deny himself things that felt good where Rhys was concerned, this he let slide. For now.

The other man seemed concentrated in his work as he replied. "How am I being creepy?" He hit a particular spot that had Axis sinking just a little into his seat. "I'm simply taking you to my villa for the day. There's nothing odd about that, aside from the fact that you are, indeed, the last person I'd consider good company."

"How're you being creepy? You just came and kidnapped me and you're taking me to- wait, villa?" That was when the feet came flying out of Rhys's lap to land, again, on the carriage floor with a dull thump. Axis leaned forward to look at the window Rhys had glanced out of before, shoving the curtain aside and studying the passing scenery. "You have a fucking villa?"

The chuckle that sounded in Axis's ear sent a shiver down his spine. He hated it, he told himself. To, perhaps, cover that (and his excitement at the prospect of a villa) up, he threw himself back into his seat and kicked his feet up onto the cushion again.

"What, you didn't think I could afford a villa?" Rhys asked, the chuckle still in his voice. "For the record," he added with pointed look, "it's not kidnapping if I pay for you."

"Fuck if I know what you can afford," Axis snapped. He wasn't the man's goddamn bookkeeper. "Maybe I like to think you're going bankrupt, coming back to meet week after week." There was a sneer in his voice. He paused, another thought came to him, made him smirk. "Does your bride-to-be know about this villa? Or is it your dirty little secret?"

Apparently more concerned with the upholstery than anything else, Rhys grabbed Axis's feet and put them in his lap again. "She knows about the villa, but she is not there at the moment." Axis didn't like the way those blue eyes were looking at him, then. Sort of haughty. At least, that was what he saw. "And I assure you, if I were going bankrupt, I'd not spent my last dimes on the likes of you."

Yeah fucking right. Axis was so sure of the contrary that the comment barely made him bat an eyelash. "Doesn't matter," he said, forcing one of his feet right between Rhys's legs. "You'll have plenty of money when you marry your pair of tits and you can spend it all on me." Axis rolled his ankle forward, pressed his foot gently against the other man's groin. "You can't fucking get enough of me." The fact that they were a carriage rolling over slightly bumpy terrain made this maneuver a little complicated, but Axis managed. Why did part of him like the idea of being some perverse secret to a married Rhys? Though there was some part of him, some very small part of him hidden in the recesses of God only knew where, that couldn't quite swallow the idea of the man being married at all.

Axis watched as Rhys leaned back and twisted that pretty face into an annoyingly attractive and challenging expression. "You seem to be putting up less and less of a fight," he observed.

Not the confession that Axis had been looking for, but his own arrogance softened the blow. Maybe Rhys hadn't admitted to being unable to get enough of Axis, but that much was obvious. To him, at least. The foot between Rhys's legs pressed against the man's groin, started to move, to slowly slide over what was trapped inside those well-tailored pants. "You have me alone in your fucking carriage," Axis said, as if that was some kind of excuse for what he was doing to the other man. "If I struggle, who knows what you'll do?" The whore's golden gaze was intent on Rhys's face, looking for a reaction. "If you like it when I struggle, I can do that. You're paying for me." He was, of course, being sarcastic. Sure, Axis had to fuck Rhys because that was what he was paying for, but beyond that, Axis would do whatever the fuck he felt like. At least, that was what he told himself. The reaction Axis had been looking for in Rhys's expression didn't come, but the man's body reacted, instead. He was leaning back farther in his seat, pressing his hips forward against Axis's foot, rolling his hips to set his own pace. Axis's eyes flickered down to watch that movement, and the words Rhys spoke in reply were secondary.

"You struggle anyway. It wouldn't be any different than how things usually are." Too easily, the two fell into a rhythm, one that Axis had to force his gaze from. "I wish you always took my orders, though," Rhys continued. "Since you now acknowledge that I'm paying for you."

"Fuck that," Axis snapped immediately, though some of the bite in his voice was gone, lost in the back and forth happening between Rhys's legs. "You're paying for sex and you get sex. And if you didn't like it, you wouldn't come back." Case and point? This trip. An unsatisfied customer wouldn't have put in this kind of effort. "But here you are, taking me to your fucking villa."

"Consider it charity," Rhys returned. It was like that asshole knew just how to get under Axis's skin. The whore gave him an entirely unamused look at the word 'charity'. "I doubt you get out much anyway. Maybe that's why you're so unpleasant all the time."

Despite Axis's attitude, his foot was still moving, still rubbing against Rhys's groin, and the body underneath his foot was stirring. "I don't want your fucking charity," Axis drawled. He tried to ignore the fact that Rhys's response to his attentions was warming him, starting that slow coiling of arousal in his stomach. Even when Rhys was saying the things that hurt Axis's so very ample pride, the man managed to turn him on. How was that even possible? "You're hard," Axis said gracelessly. There was no seduction in his voice, no attempt at being sexy. He only stated a fact.

"And you are giving me a footjob. Your point?"

Axis didn't have a point. He rarely did. The whore gave no response, and Rhys continued.

"I have to wonder, though. You don't like charity, but you're perfect fine being a courtesan? I have to wonder if there's a reason for you ending up like this." The foot in Rhys's lap stopped moving. "I know little of who you are or where you came from."

Right, well, that was enough of that. Axis dropped his foot from Rhys's lap. "The hell does charity have to do with being a whore?" he bit out. "I work for the money I get." What, did Rhys think people just came in, looked at him, and threw money at him? No. He had a job to do and he fucking did it. "Only reason I have for ending up like this," Axis added, "is that I like to fuck and I'm good at it." That was all Rhys was going to get from him, and whether or not it was actually the truth, the other man would never know. Axis and Rhys weren't going to be friends. This wasn't a Goddamn counseling session. So that sort of information was going to remain confidential.

They'd been in the carriage for what seemed like a long time. Surely they'd left the city behind them at this point. "When the fuck are we getting there?" Axis asked, making sure to be needlessly obnoxious about it. "My ass hurts from the ride."

Rhys pushed aside the curtain and looked out the window again. It revealed a sliver of glass and a fresh faucet of light that fell into the man's lap, remarkably close to where Axis' foot had been only moments earlier. From what the courtesan could see where he was sitting, they were traveling a road in a countryside far removed from the over-populated city. "Put your shoes back on before we get out," was the answer Axis got, and he figured they must have been close. Had he seen a house somewhere among all that farmland?

The whore, of course, made a show of putting his shoes back on, as if it was the most difficult task in the entire world. "Who the fuck cares if I have shoes on?" he grumbled, making sure to throw his weight around the carriage. Now that he had them back on, he heaved a sigh and threw himself back in the seat. "Can I get out of this Goddamn carriage already?" Such a child, complaining all the way.

"My servants will see. And I want you to have shoes on."

Like that was supposed to be some kind of good reason. Axis scoffed, shoved past Rhys to get out of the carriage as it glided to a stop. When his feet hit the ground, he shifted his gaze to survey his surroundings. The air there was clean and fresh, somehow less thick than the air at the Teahouse, even in their sun-filled courtyard. The countryside was beautiful, breathtaking, certainly something Axis hadn't properly seen in a while. It was far-removed from everything, and a row of cypress shaded the walkway up to the villa itself. They were trimmed fussily into tall figures, touching the clear blue sky, a sky bracketed only by the scribbled line of mountains on the horizon. No tall buildings, no walls.

"Well..." Rhys had gotten out of the carriage behind Axis. The whore could feel him at his back. "Do you like it?"


	2. Chapter 2

Rhys hopped out of the carriage after Axis, straightening his jacket so that whatever was left out the foot-induced arousal from earlier was well-hidden. Yes, this was his villa. Good memories always surfaced from this place when he'd been younger. Him and Evelyn boating on the lake, his mother reading under an umbrella in the garden. Days spent here had almost been simpler, and perhaps it would rub off on him and Axis. There was no way the man could be ornery when he was looking at a spectacular view like-

"It looks like a house," Axis, voice flat. "Why are you asking?"

Of _course_ he'd be ornery. The man always was, Rhys reminded himself with pressed-tight lips. "I ask, because you'll be spending the night here with me. And a little of tomorrow as well. If it's not good enough, you may sleep outside. Hope it doesn't rain." With a nod to the servants who greeted them, Rhys began to lead Axis toward the villa.

"What the shit are we going to do for 24 hours?" The courtesan drawled after Rhys, though it was fairly obvious he could at least _guess_. There was only ever one thing the two of them did together. Would adding a different locale make it any different?

The gravel crunched under Rhys' feet as he walked up the path, letting the shadow of the cypress fall over them. "Well, I thought we'd have supper, maybe open a bottle of wine by the fireside. Something that would make a nice evening for both of us." And then once Axis was a little tipsy and looser in his inhibitions, Rhys could take him to bed and enjoy him as long as he wanted without hearing him rant on about fags, fags, fags. "I have books, too, if you want to read, but..." Rhys looked Axis up and down, blue eyes flashing under lashes, "you don't seem like the reading type."

Axis promptly gave the other man something to 'read' in the form of a middle finger.

Once though the front door, Rhys slipped off his jacket and hung it up on a coat hanger, looking at-home already. Though it was pristinely decorated, the villa was also quite elegantly casual. Perfect for relaxed weekends away, royalty as he was. But even though the villa itself was proof of how much money Rhys had, he doubted Axis could ever guess his true identity. And he liked that. "Before you take off your shoes, you're going to wash your feet."

Axis was just finishing throwing his own jacket in the direction of the coat hanger. It landed on the floor. "...Wash my feet?" The shock had him just gaping for a moment, but he regained animation soon enough. "What the fuck else do you want me to do? Put on a dress? Maybe a little fucking lipstick for you?" He bent and stumbled a little in his haste to begin taking off his shoes.

Rhys frowned and was quick to intercept Axis by nudging the man with his own foot. He nearly fell over, as he was already balancing on one foot to try and get the shoe off, but it wasn't as though Rhys particularly cared. "What did I say? You're coming to the bathroom before you take off your shoes. We're going to wash them. This is my house, it's clean, and it will stay that way." The middle finger, he could stand (because he would take the 'fuck you' gesture to heart later tonight), but not disobedience to something he outright told Axis to do. "As for the dress and the lipstick, I'd rather not burn my poor eyes out."

The courtesan didn't say anything else to counter started to stomp off to the bathroom... before apparently realized he had no idea where it was. So he stopped, turned stiffly toward the other, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, where the hell is the bathroom, _Sir _Rhys?"

Simply compliant and loving the edge of mocking in his own voice, Rhys bowed halfway. "This way, if you'll follow me." He turned on his heel and strode down the hallway. If there was one man he would ever wash the feet of, it was Axis. He just hoped he read it as a scolding displeasure for the state of cleanliness, and not a sign of relinquishing power or respect. And, judging from the way he could feel the man's eyes absolutely burning into the back of his head as they walked down the halls, past servants and rooms with locked doors, the message was loud and clear. It must have been one Hell of a glare, though, because Rhys was sure that if he had given into his curiosity and turned around, he might actually catch Axis' eyes alight with actual flame. Poor man overworked himself sometimes.

They reached the bathroom and Axis kicked off his shoes, scattering them, and started on taking off his pants. "I'm fucking capable of washing my own feet, you know," he said, and dropped his pants. He then picked them up and threw them in Rhys' direction.

Rhys sidestepped. "You're taking off your pants, too?" It seemed a little much just to wash his feet. Not that he didn't enjoy the view. As the pants fell to a crumpled heap on the ground, the prince perched himself on the edge of the bathtub. Lifting one arm, he turned on the faucet the let the water run warm. It pattered against the cool porcelain for a moment and then began the effortless flow. The prince reached up to brush a strand of blue hair from his forehead, watching Axis with keen eyes. "If you're so insistent on doing it yourself, then so be it. But I get to inspect afterwards."

"Am I supposed to get in the bathtub with my pants on?" He walked over to the tub, grabbed some soap (it looked far too classy to be in the likes of Axis' paws), tossed it in the water with a little too much force, and then climbed in. "Fuck it." He turned in the bathtub so that he was facing Rhys, and then plopped one wet and yet-unclean foot into Rhys' lap. "You do it."

On instinct, the prince stood, scoffing. When he looked up from his ruined clothes, he did not look so careless and smug as he normally did. "Oh. You want to play it this way, do you?" Fine. Axis could be a pain in the ass, but Rhys was not going to let him win. His hands went to his own tie, beginning to loosen it purposefully as he narrowed his eyes.

There was a crooked grin that was beginning to form its curling path across Axis' lips. "Here, let me help you," he said, and knelt in the tub. He grabbed the front of Rhys' pants, getting pretty much the entire front of him wet, from waist seam of his shirt to the hem of his best-fitted trousers. The courtesan made quick work of the closure and was pulling his now-soaking pants down in no time. "What's the matter? You seem mad." There was the slightest laugh in his voice.

Screw it: tie and shirt still on, and pants barely down around his knees, Rhys tumbled down into the tub on top of Axis, slopping water out of the basin to wet the bathroom floor in large puddles. The courtesan flailed within the bathtub as the second body fell in, trying to both get out of his way and to get away from whatever revenge he'd exact. This was playing, as alarming as the idea was between the two of them, and regardless of the way the smirk on Axis' face had Rhys near-faltering for a moment. "I'm not mad. But if you think you're going to get away with this..." Restraint kept him from dunking Axis under the water like an ornery teen.

"What are you gonna do? Drip water on me?" Axis scoffed, in an almost perfect imitation of Rhys. He cupped his hands, filled them with water, and dropped it right on top of Rhys' head. "You don't fuckin' scare me."

As the water came down on Rhys' head, he frowned deeply, his blue hair running into his eyes and over his face. It took him a moment to recover, sputtering. It was harmless, though, as much as he did not like being teased, like two young brothers looking for a way to pass the time. And so Axis only had a second to tilt his head to the side and admire the way Rhys looked when he was all wet before the prince grabbed him by the back of his head in retaliation and shoved him down, dunking him promptly. The courtesan was not the only one who had tricks up his sleeve.

Axis came up spluttering and pushing his mass of red hair out of his face, and his face reddened with... was it anger? Embarrassment? Or was he just trying very hard not to laugh? Rhys couldn't quite tell.

"You... fucking asshole," Axis gasped, shoving Rhys. A small smile escaped.

Rhys had to push his own hair out of his eyes. Though he had to admit, Axis looked very handsome when he was wet. It was a little harder for him to be angry with him, then, especially because the other seemed to be taking it as something playful, not as an offense.

Wriggling in the bathtub, Axis managed to position himself to put his foot immediately in front of Rhys. "Don't you have something to do?"

Though his wet shirt clung to him (it was white, and rather see-through at this point),

Rhys ignored the urge to remove it. Instead, he grabbed onto Axis' ankle, trapping him there. "I _am _cleaning these feet once and for all."

Narrowing his eyes, Axis wiggled his toes, but didn't struggle against Rhys' grip. "We'll see about that, fairy boy. Get the fuck to work." There was still that alarmingly playful edge to his voice. "You've only got about 24 hours. Are you going to spend 22 of them washing my feet?"

Rhys ran a finger right up the bottom of that foot, trying to find a ticklish spot, and knew he found it once the man squirmed enough to slosh more water out of the tub. "Remember who is in possession of one of your body parts, Axis. Who knows what sort of horrible things I could do to your feet should you say the wrong thing." Despite the fact that he was sitting in a bathtub, drenched, he found himself in rather good spirits again. A smirk was forming on his lips as he played with one of Axis' toes, taking it between his fingers and wiggling it. Just to piss him off and treat him like a child or something. As much fun as he was having playing games, however, the whore was right: he should get washing.

Though Axis tried to pull his foot away, Rhys' grip on it was too firm. "Don'tfuckingdothat!" Using his hands, he splashed some water at Rhys. "Wash my feet, bitch."

"Then you can 'wash' my cock while I'm at it." With one last small, simpering smile, Rhys grabbed a wash cloth and a bar of soap, and began to attack the man's foot. Of course, he was very liberal with certain...ticklish spots and gestures. Seeing the other man squirm was plenty fun for him. He deserved it.

"I'm not... fucking... washing anything... of yours," Axis gasped in between little convulsions, whenever a ticklish spot on his foot was discovered. His fingers were wrapped around the edges of the tub, knuckles white. "You'll be lucky... if I even... touch anything... of yours."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow and leaned in close, so they were face to face, nearly nose-to-nose. "I'm telling you. Do it." Axis couldn't resist him. Perhaps all he needed was an excuse to get started, as usual. Not that he particularly felt the need to get worked up in the bathtub like this, but whenever the courtesan decided to so adamantly refute something he just suggested (whether it was lighthearted or not), he felt the need to give him a push to keep him in line.

Axis narrowed his eyes and leaned in a little closer, his lip raising in a sneer. "What, don't know how to handle a cock yourself? Considering which of us is the fairy..." Despite his words, he slipped his hand under the water.

Fingers crept up Rhys' knee, his thigh. He could feel them working their way up his leg in a curious path, and for a moment he was almost unsure as to whether it would actually follow through with its promise or not before they wrapped around him and gave a few slow tugs. Scrubbing away the seemingly permanent grime from the bottom of Axis' feet, Rhys suddenly found himself enjoying and relaxing with the touch. His shoulder slumped and his motions became more languid. The small scrubbing circles he'd been making suddenly turned into a slow, deep massage to match the pace of Axis' hand. "I'm handling your feet. I don't see it unacceptable for you to do something in return."

Axis leaned to the side, rested the his head on the edge of the tub, and kept the slow pace of his fingers around Rhys' length. In fact, it almost looked as though he was _watching _the prince, observing him. "I didn't want to have my feet handled in the first place. I'm the one doing you a damn favor." And despite the biting words that he was always spewing, Rhys was beginning to notice that they weren't quite holding the usual anger his kitten harbored against him. At least, for the time being.

"It's either this, or you stay outside, chained up like a dog because you're tracking mud in. I'm inviting you here to my villa, with my money. I'm the one doing you a favor." With that, Rhys determined that the first foot was acceptable, and moved on to the next one. In those perfectly capable, strong hands, he was growing steadily harder. It made it difficult to concentrate, certainly, but it was the price to pay for a leisurely handjob. The warm water of the bathtub was surprisingly comfortable for both of them, even though it was so small that there was no way they could shift around to not be touching each other in some way. Their legs were a little tangled and sometimes their hips brushed underneath the water.

With a scowl, Axis tightened his grip slightly on Rhys' length, moving it a little faster, as if that was some kind of revenge. "Yes, Sir," he growled, always with that tone of sarcasm - and he slid the tip of one finger around the sensitive ridge of Rhys' length. He did have control over what was there in his hand.

Rhys' hands faltered for a moment, nearly dropping Axis' foot. "See? You're not bad at this at all. Men always know just how to do this." Soon, he was back to scrubbing and tickling at Axis' foot, alternating between being serious about getting it clean and playful.

"If you wanted to fuck in the bathtub, you could have just said so." Axis' hand was still moving at a gradually quickening pace. The slow lapping of the bathwater against the side of the tub echoed the pistoning of his arm with a rhythmic cadence that had a distinct familiarity to it.

"We have all night ahead of us. I wouldn't want to wear you out too soon." The breath was hitching in Rhys' throat every so often, making his words waver without his consent. At least Axis would get to sit and calmly watch him release, if he was into that sort of thing. For once, it almost was like the courtesan had the upper, more graceful hand in this. Once the second foot was scrubbed clean, he let it back down into the bathtub, pushing the soap and washcloth aside.

Axis scoffed. "I don't wear out." But he wanted to see if Rhys did. As soon as he had his feet back, he put them on either side, his legs over top of the other man's, and moved closer, his hand still sliding up and down that hard length. He grabbed the tie still lingering wet around the prince's neck and tugged him from his relaxed position against the cold porcelain rim of the tub, the pace of his stroking increasing even more. Yes, Axis had the upper hand. He had the control. Perhaps he was enjoying the lapse of smugness that was usually embedded into Rhys' face. His eyes were half-lidded instead, searching Axis for the usual softness and lovely carelessness that accompanied their intimate moments. But after he failed to find it there, he supposed it didn't work as a one-sided thing. Axis probably would need his own stimulation in order to gain that lover's attitude that he'd been able to coax out of him before. A small sigh left Rhys' lips, a testament to the good job that the man was doing so far.

It was that small sigh that seemingly drew Axis in somehow, made him want to taste it, maybe, and he did, his lips just barely touching the other man's. He still had a firm grip on both Rhys; both his length and his tie.

"Ah-ah..." Rhys tilted his head after the first touch of their lips together, pulling back the fraction he needed to play keepaway. "If you want it, you'll have to work for it." He could have his own upper hand here, even though Axis might play it off like he wanted no part in a kiss now. Despite that, Rhys knew that a kiss would have suited the other man just fine. Though the soft panting and pleasure, the prince managed a small, open-mouthed smirk.

There was the narrowing of golden-flecked eyes again, and he moved his hand to wrap the tie once around his fingers and pull Rhys forward again on an even shorter leash. Though it shouldn't have logically happened, there it was; Axis was leaning forward again and looking for the other man's lips with his own. He found them, and this time it wasn't a soft kiss. It wasn't hard or harsh, but there was pressure behind it, and when he pulled back, he tugged Rhys' bottom lip with his teeth. Rhys surrendered his lower lip without a fight, only a small moan escaping to warn against biting. His breath was hot, panting out against the mouth that had claimed his own so readily and easily. Funny how Rhys had expected to keep himself away for at least a few more minutes. Apparently Axis wasn't going to have much of a fight put up against him, as Rhys was nearing his release. His hips were rocking up against the hand that gripped him perfectly, mouth barely able to coordinate a good kiss. Eyes closed, it was only a few moments after their lips parted that he let himself come. And though it was no marathon record time, he reasoned that he hadn't gotten anything for the last few days, and it would help him keep it up later that night where it really mattered.

Axis didn't seem to mind. At least, he didn't comment on it, and merely slowed his stroking and returned to the soft kisses he'd started with as the grand rush all settled down. Rhys let his head hang down, breathing quickened. The kisses came as a small refreshment, reminding him that he needed to open his eyes and pay attention to the other person in the room. Axis, at this moment, was rather important, as he still had his hands all over him. "Your feet are clean," he said, though his voice came out a little raspier than he would have liked. He was too wrapped up in the moment, he supposed. He lifted his eyes to look at Axis, wanting to see his reaction to all this; was he pissed off he had to do work, satisfied that he'd gotten a chance to perform solo, or indifferent, bored?

Instead, the courtesan was wearing nothing but a self-satisfied smirk. Apparently he was more than pleased with himself. He finally stopped his hand and slid back in the tub, putting just a little distance between the two of them. He bent one knee, looked at the bottom of one foot - and there were the brands, looking stark against the now clean skin. "What a productive bathtime," he said, voice dry. There was still that smirk, though.


End file.
